


Take The Upward Road

by katling



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Elders of the Universe - Freeform, F/M, Grief/Mourning, I don't gloss over the mess he made, I'm adding those two, Loki is tricky, Not Steve Friendly, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), They are a thing, always remember that, and I'm not the Russos, and they're powerful, because Steve is not the hero here, but he's not the bad guy either, he's just made some mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14814374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: Thanos clicked his fingers and half the universe faded into ash. In the aftermath, three groups of people come together to find a way to defeat Thanos and undo what has been done.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I saw Infinity War a couple of days ago and wrote the first chapter of this on the way home on the tram. That's how much the idea grabbed me. :D The whole thing is finished but I'll be posting chapters every 2 or 3 days, just to give me one last chance to look them over.
> 
> I will warn you that I'm a bit handwavey in regards to travel times in space in this one so let's just... let that go, shall we?
> 
> Also, you will note I call Valkyrie Brunnhilde in this because that's her name. Valkyrie is what she is, not her name. There were many Valkyries but only one Brunnhilde. :D
> 
> The title comes from the following passage from J.R.R. Tolkein's _The Two Towers_. It seemed appropriate.
> 
> “Frodo raised his head, and then stood up. Despair had not left him, but the weakness had passed. He even smiled grimly, feeling now as clearly as a moment before he had felt the opposite, that what he had to do, he had to do, if he could, and that whether Faramir or Aragorn or Elrond or Galadriel or Gandalf or anyone else knew about it was beside the purpose. He took his staff in one hand and the phial in his other. When he saw that the clear light was already welling through his fingers, he thrust it into his bosom and held it against his heart. Then turning from the city of Morgul, now no more than a grey glimmer across a dark gulf, he prepared to take the upward road.”

“This was not a good idea.”

Loki didn’t turn to look at the Valkyrie. His gaze was fixed on the ruins of the Grandmaster’s ship. He flinched when a flood of magic backlashed through him and knew that his doppelgänger had been killed. He’d seen the rainbow light that indicated that Heimdall had succeeded in his task. All the pieces were in play now.

“If by that you mean that Thor will kill me himself when he finds out I have fooled him into thinking I am dead yet again, then you may be right,” he said with rather morbid amusement.

“He won’t kill you,” Korg said with a genial obliviousness that Loki rather envied as Miek chittered in the background. “This is as good a plan as any. He’ll be pleased it succeeded.”

Now Loki glanced over at Brunnhilde. From the look on her face, she felt as little desire to tell their erstwhile allies the truth as he did, though he suspected their reasons were different.

“Are you sure giving him the Space Stone was wise?” she asked in a low voice.

Loki grimaced. “Was it wise? No. Was it necessary? Yes.”

“Why take it anyway?” she snapped. “You should have let it be destroyed on Asgard?”

Loki shot her an exasperated look. “And take the risk that it _wouldn’t_ be destroyed and Surtur would find it?”

Brunnhilde turned away without a word. They’d already had this argument - twice - and there just wasn’t a good answer to it.

“Heimdall got Banner away,” he said, his fingers fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves. It was an old nervous habit he’d picked up from his mother. “That was the important thing.”

Brunnhilde turned back to him, frowning. “Why?”

Loki grimaced. He’d been forced to tell her more of his plan than he would have preferred in order to get her agreement... and her silence. He suspected that she knew his plan was flimsy, relying on a hundred different maybes and hopes, but she’d agreed anyway, not just with the plan but also to say nothing to Thor.

“For the same reason I convinced the beast to let himself be defeated,” he said then he snorted. “Admittedly, he was never _not_ going to be defeated with Thanos having the Power Stone but I needed him to accept that and not continue to the point of suicide so that Heimdall could send him to Midgard. He will be needed there.”

“ _Why_?” Brunnhilde pressed.

Loki looked into space. They couldn’t see the Asgardian ship anymore but he let himself imagine he could.

“So that he can show his true nature,” he said quietly.

He’d always known that the Hulk was no dumb beast, no matter what he might have said in the past under duress. Barton had told him about the Midgardian scientist who had turned himself into a shapeshifter. A curious thing in and of itself but even more so when Banner didn’t even realise his inner self’s true nature. He snorted. Anger. As if that was the sum of the creature. What a fool Banner was to not realise his greatest emotion, the one that had formed the Hulk.

The beast had been the one to grasp what he’d wanted without any of the arguments of the others. When Thanos’ ship had risen before them, Loki had known they had little time. He’d cast his doppelgänger spell immediately, calling upon almost all his magic to make it indistinguishable from his true self, hoping it would be enough to fool Ebony Maw. He’d left the doppelgänger beside Thor as he’d hidden himself under a spell of invisibility and made his way through the ship. Had Thanos possessed the Reality Stone, he would have been able to see through his ruse but the Power Stone wouldn’t give him that ability.

He’d gone to Heimdall first because without his assistance, all of this would have been for naught. The Guardian has agreed with surprising ease, needing little convincing. It made Loki wonder what Heimdall had seen but there had been no time to ask. Brunnhilde had needed more convincing and he’d been on the verge of giving up on her when Heimdall had said two words - “Trust him.” - and she’d stopped, given him a long look and then nodded.

But the Hulk had needed even less. All he’d said was “Stark will need you to fulfill your true nature - to protect.” And the beast had agreed to everything that Loki had proposed.

Loki had known ever since Stark had passed through the portal that it would come down to the Midgardian. He’d dreamed of it in his prison, had sought answers for his dreams after his false death. He had found only more questions and the absolute certainty that his dreams were true.

He’d also found one last thing, locked deep in the forbidden archives on Asgard, archives open only to Odin - the name of someone who could help. Maybe.

He turned to face the others, his expression grim. “How long?”

“Two days,” Brunnhilde said. She shook her head. “You know no one has ever returned from the Eyeless Nebula.”

Loki met her eyes. “Then we shall be the first.”

*****

Tony felt… nothing. He was numb. Frozen. All the life sucked out of him and scattered into the same dust that had once been Peter Parker. Even the dull ache of his injuries were nothing against the gaping chasm that existed in his chest. He couldn’t bring himself to move, to say anything, even to _think_. He just… existed, trembling, as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He didn’t even notice the only other person left alive moving towards him until a hand touched his shoulder. He jerked and stared up at the blue woman with wide eyes, trembling as his emotions threatened to spill over.

“We have to go.”

The words sounded harsh but there was something in them, some distant memory of gentleness, of understanding, of _knowing_ , that made Tony nod his head. The movement was jerky and he almost expected to hear something creaking inside him. 

He somehow managed to stand, shaking like a newborn foal. His side ached fiercely and when he took his first step, his legs nearly folded underneath him. The woman caught him then huffed and slung his arm over her shoulders. He was grateful for her help and… there was something about her that said she was grateful to help, to do _something_ of use, something that _worked_ after her failure. He could understand that. 

“Where?” he croaked. He sounded shattered and broken but then, she’d sounded no better when she’d spoken just before.

She was silent as they limped over towards Quill’s ship, somehow miraculously still intact after everything. “Terra,” she finally said. “We have to go to Terra.” She paused as she manoeuvred them both up the ramp. “There was a message.”

Tony frowned and concentrated on making his feet move one after the other. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to Earth. What would he be going back to? Had Pepper survived? Rhodey? Did he have anything to go back _for_?

The woman… Nebula! Yes, that was what the others had called her. Nebula got him seated on an old crate inside the ship and he scrubbed his face with both hands. As he did, he was aware he was scrubbing what was left of Peter into his skin but he didn’t stop. He felt almost… right doing so. It was his fault Peter had been there, had died in his arms, looking at him with fear and the desperate hope that Tony could somehow make it right. Tony had never had a proper father figure in his life, not the way others knew of such things. But in that moment, he’d known how it felt.

“What message?” he finally managed.

“He called himself Loki.”

Tony jerked then hissed and winced when the pain in his side flashed through him. “Loki?” he croaked. “You know Loki?”

Nebula shook her head. “No. But he knew me. He said…” She broke off and something like grief or perhaps a howling, raging anguish crossed her face. “He said that when all failed, we should go to Terra. That we would get our answers there.”

Tony had no reason to trust Loki. In fact, given the last time he’d seen him was at the vanguard of Thanos’ army, he had every reason to ignore the message. But somehow, for some reason, he didn’t. Maybe it was because Loki had known they were going to fail but still had a plan. That was more than Tony had, even though he suspected he was supposed to. Why else would Strange sacrifice the stone for him after his adamant refusal to do so earlier? What had Strange seen in that single future defeat of Thanos? Why did it mean he chose _Tony_ over the entire universe?

Tony didn’t have any answers for those questions but maybe… maybe Loki would.

“Okay,” he said, nodding wearily. “I haven’t got any better suggestions. Let’s… go home.”

Something unknown and unknowable rippled across Nebula’s face then she nodded and strode over to the controls of the ship. Tony wanted to feel enthused, wanted to examine everything in the ship – a _real space ship_ – but… he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to care about something so trivial right now. They’d lost, Thanos had won and Tony… Tony was all out of solutions.

*****

“We gotta go back to the Compound,” Bruce said.

He was out of the Hulkbuster armour and sitting at its feet. The others were standing or sitting or lying nearby. Everyone was in shock, was grieving, was lost and broken, unable to understand what had happened. But Bruce’s words got their attention.

“What?” Steve said. 

He was still kneeling next to the ashes of what had once been Bucky Barnes. Bruce had gotten the cliff’s notes version of what had happened in his absence from Rhodes but he could read between the lines probably better than anyone here. Steve had chosen Bucky over Tony, over the whole world, and while Steve was trying to convince himself that he’d chosen correctly, Bruce could see that he regretted it. Not choosing Bucky, he didn’t regret that, but that he regretted not finding a better way. He regretted letting his panic and fear override everything else.

Bruce also knew there was something else, something Steve wasn’t telling anyone, something that involved Tony. He also knew now… was not the time to be hashing over old hurts and injuries. This was too big for that. He glanced over at the witch and hoped he could keep to his own ideal. Or more importantly, that the Hulk would.

_Go to Compound!_

Speaking of his green alter ego…

_What is wrong with you?_ he demanded. _Why won’t you come out?_

The was a great silence from the Hulk and Bruce sighed with irritation and exasperation. He could only think that there was a certain amount of irony in the fact that he’d spent so long trying to get rid of the Hulk, only to find he wouldn’t come out when he actually needed him.

_Not time._

Bruce frowned. _Not time? What does that mean?_

“Bruce?”

Bruce gave a start and looked over to find Steve watching him with a mix of worry and curiosity.

“Sorry,” Bruce said. “The Hulk… he wants us all to go to the Compound…”

“Why?”

_GO TO COMPOUND!_

Bruce jerked and winced at the Hulk’s bellow and from the look on the other’s faces, he must have gone a bit green for a moment.

“We can go to the Compound,” Steve said quietly, almost soothingly.

Bruce would have resented that except it made Hulk settle down in his mind. 

_Take smart girl_ , the Hulk rumbled.

_What smart girl? Shuri?_

_Her. Take her._

“We have to get Shuri,” he said out loud.

The Wakandan woman immediately bristled protectively, glaring at him as her hand tightened on her spear. “Why?”

“The Hulk wants her there,” Bruce said then he rubbed his forehead with one hand. “I don’t know why.” He looked up at the woman and shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know what he knows that I don’t. I don’t… always remember things when he’s in charge and he was in charge when we faced Thanos on the Asgardian ship. He was in charge when Heimdall sent us here. He’s told me some things. Things I needed to tell Strange and Tony but I don’t know what else he knows.”

“Then we come with her,” a man said firmly.

They all startled and turned to look at the man who had approached without any of them noticing him. It was a Wakandan man, tall and broad and dressed in fur and leather. He carried a wooden spear and looked as shattered and grief-stricken as the rest of them.

The Wakandan woman nodded after a moment, seeming to gather herself together. “Yes. We will come to protect our Queen.”

Bruce saw the way the man grimaced and bowed his head. When he raised it again, he gave a single slow nod to the woman. “Yes, we will protect our Queen.”

“Come,” the woman said, drawing her pride around her as a source of strength. “If we must go, then let us go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The various pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together.

The silence in the ship was heavy and weighted with things unsaid. Korg and Miek had both crumbled into ash the previous day and neither Loki nor Brunnhilde could think of anything to say. Loki had stared at the two piles of ash until he could bear it no longer and had disappeared down into the depths of the ship. There was an access port there and he stared out the tiny window at the stars, trapped in his own thoughts. He had no idea how long he’d been there when the Valkyrie joined him.

“He won.”

Loki twitched and closed his eyes. “So it seems.”

“But… it can be undone, yes?”

Loki didn’t know what to say. He had no idea, only dreams and whispers and half-remembered things hidden in ancient books. And hope. It was small and frayed, that hope. Tattered and faded and so very fragile. He clung to it because… he didn’t know what else to do.

“Do you think Thor…?”

She broke off at Loki’s visible flinch. He was glad she had because that was the question he’d been asking himself. Did Thor live? Or had he too faded into ash? He would consider every recrimination worth it if Thor lived.

“He lives,” he said tightly. He had to believe that. He had to.

“Yeah,” Brunnhilde said, breathing out the words like a prayer.

Silence fell again but she didn’t leave. Loki was glad for it, glad for the company to stop him from falling too far into his own thoughts.

“How long?” he finally asked when he couldn’t bear the silence any longer.

“A few hours,” Brunnhilde replied. “We should go back up.”

Loki nodded but neither of them moved for the next few minutes. Then Loki sighed and turned around and they made their way back up to the bridge. The piles of ash were gone and Loki was grateful for that. He gave the Valkyrie a nod and she returned it as they took their places at the controls.

“It wouldn’t have stopped him,” Brunnhilde said after a while. “If you’d tried to keep the Space Stone from him.”

Loki shook his head. “No, not once he had the Power Stone. Not even Surtur could have kept it safe.”

Brunnhilde nodded. “Yeah.” She frowned as she looked at the nebula looming in front of them. “Are you sure about this?”

“No,” Loki said with a sort of morbid humour. “But what else can we do?”

Brunnhilde nodded and sent them forward into the nebula. The ship shuddered around them and the lights flickered off then on again as they crossed over but they were soon through and they realised that calling it a nebula was erroneous. It looked like one from the outside but it was an illusion. Once they’d passed the edges, they found themselves inside… something.

“Where are we?” Brunnhilde asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Where do we go?”

Loki snorted and pointed at the only thing they could see in the blackness around them – a small, green planet. “There. Obviously.”

Brunnhilde shot him an irritated look. “This doesn’t feel like a trap to you?”

“If I’m right about what is on that planet then… trap is not the word I would use.”

“What word _would_ you use?”

Loki licked his lips. “An Elder.”

Brunnhilde’s head whipped around and she stared at him. “Like the Grandmaster?”

“Yes and no,” Loki said with a grimace. 

“That’s why you were pandering to him?”

Loki shot her an irritated look. “I was not _pandering_ to him. I was… taking advantage of the opportunity given to me and yes, part of that was encouraging him to talk about subjects _I_ wanted to know about.”

“Like Thanos.”

“Like the Infinity Stones,” Loki replied. 

Brunnhilde nodded. He’d had to admit to her that he’d been Thanos’ prisoner to get her to agree. He hadn’t gone into details but she seemed to understand.

“This Elder…” she said.

“I know nothing of him,” Loki said, anticipating her question. “Not even if he is truly here. But this is where the trail leads.”

“Then so be it,” Brunnhilde said.

Loki stared at the planet as they closed in on it. For once he wasn’t lying. He had no idea what lay on the surface of the planet or even if coming here would help but it was all that he could do. That and hope that the messages he’d sent out had been heeded.

*****

Tony winced and briefly placed a hand on his side as he poked around the Milano. Once the adrenaline had worn off, the stab wound had made itself known. His nanobots had stopped the worst of it but he still needed treatment. Nebula had provided that. Her bedside manner left a lot to be desired but she knew what she was doing and that had been enough for Tony. Now he was trying to see what he could do to augment the nanobots he had left. He’d used up a lot of them on Titan and even reclaiming the ones that had been holding his guts together wouldn’t give him enough to produce anything more than the most rudimentary suit. He could wait until he got back to Earth to fix things but he wasn’t willing to trust that they’d make it unmolested and… it would keep him busy.

A low curse drew his attention to the woman piloting the ship and as he watched, she twisted her wrist around almost a full three hundred and sixty degrees. And not in the normal way. His eyes widened at that unnatural motion but then he heard the distinctive noise of grinding gears and he stood up.

“Can I help?”

Nebula twisted and glared at him for a moment before turning back to the controls. “No.”

“I’m…” Tony swallowed hard. “I’m a mechanic. Among other things but… that’s not important. I… I don’t know if I can help but…”

Nebula hunched a little in her chair then she flinched and he heard the grinding sound from her wrist again. She touched part of the panel in front of her then she got up and stalked over to him. She thrust her wrist out towards him. “Fine.”

Tony looked around and found a box full of tools. Most of them looked at least vaguely familiar, though some of them he didn’t recognise. He gestured for her to sit down on a crate then he pulled up a second crate and gently took hold of her wrist.

“Can you open this up?” he asked quietly.

Nebula hesitated and when he glanced up, she was looking at him like he had two heads. She then snorted softly and triggered the mechanism that opened up her wrist, hand and arm. Tony whistled softly in admiration then peered inside. The problem was obvious – a couple of bent screws and struts – and he rifled through the tool box until he found a set of pliers and some spare screws that looked like they were the same size.

“Let me know if this hurts,” he murmured before carefully reaching inside Nebula’s wrist.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nebula said dismissively.

Tony froze. He almost looked up but then very carefully kept his eyes on what he was doing. “Uh, yes, it does. Pain tells me I’m doing something wrong.”

“Yours or mine,” Nebula said dryly.

Tony snorted in something that, in better times, might have been amusement. “Both.”

Nebula was silent as he carefully straightened the struts then removed the screws and replaced them. Once he was done, she closed the various sections and panels then she moved her wrist around. The grinding noise was gone and she gave him a nod.

“There was no pain,” she said before she abruptly got up and stalked back to the controls.

Tony watched her go and figured that might just have been her version of ‘thank you’. He’d take it. He put the tools back and went back to his scrounging. He wondered if he should ask about the message she’d mentioned but ultimately decided he didn’t really care. She had no reason to lie to him about Loki of all people and… what did he really need to know about the message beyond what she’d told him.

“How long will it takes us to get to Earth… Terra?” he asked.

Nebula was quiet for a moment as she punched a few things into the panel to her side. “Thirty four of your hours,” she finally said.

Tony nodded. He hadn’t been wearing a watch when everything had gone down with Thanos. But it didn’t matter. A day and a half was enough of a measure. He might lose track of time specifically when he was working but he still retained a general sense of how much time had passed.

“There’s food over there,” Nebula suddenly said, pointing towards a cabinet over to one side. “And water in the back.”

Tony nodded. “Thanks.” Not that he felt like eating, his stomach still tied in knots over what had happened, but he would a bit later. His body would need the fuel.

Nebula turned back to her piloting and silence fell again. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence though. Nebula didn’t seem to be the type to ask extraneous questions and Tony was in no mood to do that either nor was he inclined to fill the silence with noise as he normally might. He just wanted to work so he didn’t have to think.

*****

Rhodey was the first one off the Wakandan jet when they finally reached the Compound. They’d failed and he no longer had to play nicely with Rogers and his merry morons. He’d gritted his teeth and done so when Rogers had first arrived because this was bigger than any of them and for all that he’d said to Rogers about court martials, he wasn’t worried about that either and not just because of what had happened. Ross wasn’t as popular as he thought he was among the military and definitely not in the Air Force. Rhodey was confident that Ross’ bluster would go nowhere… assuming Ross was still around.

“Colonel!”

Rhodey breathed a sigh of relief when he heard FRIDAY’s voice but the panic and fear so obvious in it quickly erased that. “FRI? Have you been able to make contact with Tony?”

“No, Colonel,” FRIDAY almost wailed. “I can’t reach him or Spider-Man at all and… I… I can’t reach Ms Potts either.”

Rhodey staggered for a moment. _Pepper_. Someone caught his elbow but he shook them off without even looking. He drew in a deep breath. He _had_ to keep it together. “What about May Parker?”

FRIDAY was silent for a moment. “No, Colonel. I have been contacted by a Harley Keener though. He’s asking for the Mechanic.”

Rhodey managed a faint smile, remembering Tony’s fond rambling about the kid who had helped him during the Mandarin debacle. “Where is he?”

“On his way here,” FRIDAY replied. “I sent Mr Hogan to meet him.”

“Good,” Rhodey said as he let the armour finally fold away and he stepped out. FRIDAY took control of the armour and it stomped away towards the workshop. He sighed. “Ross?”

“Secretary Ross is no longer with us,” FRIDAY said tartly. “But Councilmember Everett Ross has called.”

“Right,” Rhodey said, heading for the conference room that held the most equipment. He could hear the others trailing after him but he didn’t pay them much attention right now. “Tell him I’ll call him back later.”

“I can do that.”

Rhodey turned and gave the Wakandan woman, who had introduced herself as Okoye, a nod. Anyone who was willing to step up and help was fine in his books. “Thanks. If he wants to know what we’re doing, tell him…”

“Tell him we are doing everything we can,” Shuri said firmly. The young Queen of Wakanda looked drawn and grief-stricken but still determined. She was moving a little gingerly after having been knocked out by some of their attackers and the big Wakandan man, who’d been introduced as M’Baku, stood like a silent sentinel behind her and had not left that position since they’d left Wakanda. Shuri didn’t seem to mind.

Okoye nodded and FRIDAY directed her to the other side of the conference room where there were phones.

“What can we do?” Steve asked but before Rhodey could reply, FRIDAY spoke again.

“Colonel? The police have delivered a piece of technology that was found near a car registered to a Maria Hill,” she said. “Witnesses report a black man with her who matched the description of Nicholas Fury. Both are… gone.”

Rhodey grimaced and looked over at Shuri. “Can you take a look at that, Your Majesty?”

“Shuri,” the young woman said firmly before he could continue.

Rhodey nodded. “Shuri. You can use Tony’s workshop. I know he won’t mind. When Harley arrives, I’ll send him down. Tony told me he’s a good engineer.”

“I’ll go with them,” the raccoon… Rocket… snarled. Nobody paid his tone any mind. They understood.

Shuri nodded and hurried away, Rocket and her large shadow following her as FRIDAY directed them through the Compound. Rhodey watched them go then turned to Rogers.

“I was going to have you and Romanov contact Maria or Fury to ask about SHIELD but since they’re gone, that plan is out the window,” he said briskly. “So I’ll do that.”

“We can still do it,” Natasha said with a small frown.

Rhodey snorted. “You’ve been living under a rock since DC, haven’t you? You and Rogers are persona non grata among the surviving SHIELD people after you got a shit ton of their colleagues killed.”

He didn’t wait for whatever offended looks or protests of innocence they were going offer and instead turned to the nearest wall, bringing up the holographic screens with a practised wave of his hand. He checked over a few things then nodded to himself.

“Rogers, take Thor, Romanov and Maximoff and check the Compound,” he said. “FRIDAY says it’s clear but I want to be sure.”

Steve looked like he wanted to protest but then he nodded and the four of them headed out. Rhodey wasn’t actually picking on them or sidelining them. If there were more of Thanos’ troops here then a god, a super soldier, a super spy and a witch would have more luck against them than most.

“Bruce?” Rhodey said, more gently than he had before.

The other man had slumped down into a chair, looking tired and more worn than usual. “I know what you’re going to ask and… he says we have to wait.”

“For what?”

Bruce just gave him a helpless look. “I don’t know.”

Rhodey sighed and rested both hands on the table, letting himself just… sag for a moment. He wanted to cry or scream or rant and rave but he couldn’t do any of that. FRIDAY had nearly two dozen messages from various armed forces both in the US and around the world that he had to deal with. There were messages for Tony that he was going to have to handle and they were going to want to know where Tony was and he couldn’t answer that any more than he could answer the question of what they were going to do now. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Bruce’s understanding expression.

“What can I do?”

Rhodey drew in a breath and nodded. “Want to growl at some politicians for me? Maybe they’ll shut up if they think they’ll have to deal with the Hulk?”

Bruce gave him a wan smile. “Sure. Hulk might be refusing to smash right now but they don’t need to know that.”

They both straightened and headed for the phones, both more than happy to keep busy rather than have to think about their impossible situation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony arrives home and Rhodey will be _damned_ if Tony has to deal with Cap and his merry morons before he's had a chance to catch his breath and just... let go for a little bit.
> 
> Loki and Brunnhilde find what - or rather who - they're looking for. It's an interesting experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKay, so... I kind of left Wanda alive when she actually died. Oops. As I said in a reply to one commenter, that's what I get for writing this after seeing IW only once and not really caring about Wanda at all and therefore not really paying much attention to her fate. :D Besides, Loki has a really bitchy line about her in the next chapter so... let's just all wave our hands a bit and pretend. She's not really going to be featuring much so there's that as well.
> 
> Also, I am making the assumption here that by this stage, Rhodey has been let in on the "Spider-Man is Peter Parker" thing.

Rhodey had finally taken some time to sleep. He hadn’t wanted to but when he’d started tripping over his own feet despite the braces Tony had made for him, he’d known he had no choice. Most of the others were draped over various couches and chairs even though FRIDAY had offered rooms but Rhodey knew better than to try that. He went to his own room at first but he couldn’t sleep there and ended up in Tony’s room. It was stupidly sentimental but… he needed it.

He’d only been up for less than an hour and was rather desultorily eating the breakfast Steve had made for him when FRIDAY set off an alert.

“FRI?” he demanded.

“There is an incoming vessel heading for the Compound,” FRIDAY said.

“Can we get a visual?” Rhodey said as he headed for the main room and its large windows. He could hear his War Machine armour clumping into the room and coming to a halt near the door, just in case he needed it.

The TV switched on and an image flickered into life. The vessel was small and vastly different from the hulking vessels they seen in Wakanda or the huge rings that had hovered over New York.

“It’s the Milano,” Rocket said before Rhodey could give any orders.

“Yours?” he said.

“Quill’s,” Rocket said gruffly.

“Aye,” Thor said sombrely. “I recognise it too.”

“Quill was taking the others to Knowhere,” Rocket said. “The Collector had the Reality Stone.”

They’d all seen the red stone in Thanos’ gauntlet and they winced. Clearly that had not been a successful trip. But now that they knew the ship held friendlies, they made their way out to the landing pad. The Wakandan jet had already been moved to one of the hangers so it was clear when the Milano slowly lowered onto the pad and landed. They moved forward as someone emerged from the ship and then Rhodey’s legs nearly went out from underneath him.

“ _Tony_ ,” he breathed as he lurched forward, dragging his friend into a ferocious hug.

Tony hugged back just as hard and Rhodey could feel the way his friend was trembling so he didn’t let go when he ordinarily might have. Only when Tony’s trembling settled a little did he let go just enough to look at his face.

“Tones,” he said with concern. “What happened?”

Tony swallowed and shook his head. “Later. Not long but… later.” He gestured towards the blue-skinned woman who was standing not far behind him. “This is Nebula. She’s a friend.”

They all saw the surprise that flickered over the woman’s face, a surprise that intensified when Rocket snorted then relented.

“Yeah, she’s a friend.”

Rhodey ushered Tony into the Compound and into his room to give him a moment of privacy. The moment the door closed, Tony collapsed against him and buried his face in his chest. Rhodey was pretty sure Tony was crying but he didn’t say anything, just wrapped his arms around him and waited him out. When he finally raised his head again, Rhodey nudged him towards the bathroom.

“Have a shower and get changed. I’ll organise the rabble.”

He got the faintest quirk of the lips from Tony before he disappeared into the bathroom. Rhodey stared at the closed door for a moment then sat down on the bed.

“FRIDAY?”

“I asked Mr Rocket to show Ms Nebula to a room,” she replied immediately. “She said she didn’t need it. Everyone is waiting in the common room.”

“Tell ‘em we’ll be there when Tony’s ready.”

“Yes, Colonel.”

Rhodey waited patiently until Tony emerged, wrapped in just a towel. He winced at the bruises on Tony’s chest and arms but it was the wound on the side of Tony’s stomach that had him on his feet with a curse.

“Tony!”

“It’s okay, honeybear,” Tony said, giving him a fond look. “The nanobots took care of the worst of it and Nebula took care of the rest. It looks worse than it is.”

“Fuck, Tones,” Rhodey breathed, wincing when Tony walked past him and he saw the matching exit wound on Tony’s back. _It looks worse than it is_ , his fine, black ass. Tony had been _impaled_ by something. The wounds did look better than they ought to but he was determined to have Bruce look at them as soon as possible. Then something finally pinged in his mind. “Wait… Peter?”

Tony had been getting dressed and now he sagged and leaned against the side of the wardrobe. “He’s… gone,” he said hoarsely. “So is Strange and… and the others we met there.”

Rhodey got up and walked over. He reached out and placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder carefully, unsure how he was going to react, but Tony just turned and buried his face in Rhodey’s chest again. Rhodey felt tears welling in his eyes. He’d only met Peter a few times but he knew how much Tony cared about the kid. He didn’t blame him. Peter was… _good_. Just a ball of sunshine and goodness and he was so damn good for Tony and vice versa.

He closed his eyes and knew he had to tell Tony now. “Tones… Pepper’s gone.”

He felt it when Tony’s knees buckled and he wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him up and letting him cry. He wanted to scream curses to the sky. Pepper and Peter gone and fucking Rogers was still standing there, looking self-righteous and pompous. Okay, maybe he was being unfair there, he knew Barnes was gone as well, but he didn’t give a damn. He was _Tony’s_ friend, not Rogers’.

When Tony finally pulled back, his eyes were red and his face drawn. He looked lost and broken and Rhodey hated that. But there was nothing he could do and he couldn’t even give Tony the luxury of time to hide in his workshop and lick his wounds.

“Tones? Bruce says Hulk has something to tell us.”

Tony looked up at him. “Hulk?”

“Yeah,” Rhodey said. “Hulk wanted us all back here at the Compound and he’s supposed to tell us why. I think… I think maybe he was waiting for you.”

Tony nodded slowly. “Nebula said she’d gotten a message, telling us to come back here. Well, to Earth anyway.”

“A message?” Rhodey frowned. “From whom?”

Tony snorted. “Let’s wait until we can talk to everyone.”

“Okay.” Rhodey hesitated. “Rogers is here, along with Romanov, Thor and Maximoff.”

Tony grimaced then shrugged. “It had to be done. Who else?”

“Princess Shuri.” Rhodey winced. “Queen Shuri now. T’Challa’s gone too. Two other Wakandans. The General of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, and the chief of one of their tribes, M’Baku. The raccoon is Rocket.”

“Yeah, Nebula told me about him,” Tony said with a nod. “She travelled with them for a bit. Her sister was one of their group.”

“And Harley should be here sometime today.”

Tony stared at him for a moment with wide eyes then he closed them and sagged a little. He swallowed hard a couple of times then nodded. “Okay,” he said, his voice thick with relief. “That’s… that’s good.”

Then, as Rhodey watched, Tony straightened and squared his shoulders. He visibly pushed his grief away and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. He then turned to Rhodey.

“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.”

*****

The planet was lush and green and in any other circumstances, Loki might have thought it was beautiful and paused to examine any number of the plants they’d been walking past. Because these plants were from a hundred different planets and he had no idea how they were all co-existing. And in some cases, thriving. There were desert plants next to tropical plants next to temperate plants. It was impossible and yet, exactly the sort of thing he would expect from an Elder.

“How are we supposed to find this Elder?” Brunnhilde muttered as they pushed through a curtain of vines.

“I’m sure he already know we’re here,” Loki murmured. “He’s watching us, waiting to see what we do.”

“Is that why you told me not to harm the plants?”

Loki nodded. “This planet is an impossibility. It’s here, it exists, all these plants are here because the Elder wants them to be here. Because he cherishes them, nurtures them.”

“So if we respect that, he’ll meet with us?”

“Hopefully.”

They gently eased their way through a stand of bushes and found themselves in a tiny clearing. On the other side of the clearing was a narrow path leading into the trees. They exchanged glances and then Loki shrugged.

“Do we have any better way to go?”

Brunnhilde snorted and head for the path. Loki followed her then took the lead before they got to the path. She shot him a look but didn’t argue. This _was_ his idea, after all. His dreams, his questions, his place to take the lead. He was still a little surprised that she didn’t question him though. All his life people had questioned him but Brunnhilde accepted that he knew what he was doing, however loosely. She knew they were grasping at straws but she was willing to let him play this out and see how it went. He felt… moved by that.

The path wound through the trees and didn’t seem to be leading anywhere until it abruptly opened into another clearing. This one was more structured and at its heart was a small domed dwelling covered in various vines and plants. Outside the dwelling was an old man who was puttering around in the gardens. He looked up as they approached and waved them closer.

“Hello, hello! Welcome, Prince Loki, Lady Valkyrie. Come. Sit down.”

The old man pointed to a small stone bench half-hidden among some bushes and they walked over and sat down gingerly. Neither of them were overly surprised that the Elder seemed to know who they were. 

The old man disappeared into the house for a few minutes and when he emerged, he was carrying a tray with three steaming cups on it. “Tea?”

Loki took one of the cups. “Thank you,” he said with a smile. He took a sip then closed his eyes as a wave of grief and longing washed over him. He knew this tea. It had been his mother’s favourite. And his. He blinked back the sudden tears and took another sip.

“Now,” the old man said and Loki’s eyes flew open. The old man was sitting opposite them in a wicker chair that hadn’t been there before. “Why are you here?”

Loki looked down at his cup of tea then back up again. “Thanos. He has all the infinity stones.”

The old man’s expression never changed, remained genial and vaguely interested. “Yes, I know.”

“He’s killed half the universe.”

The old man now looked amused. “Has he?”

Loki froze for a moment then he gave the old man a long careful look. “Hasn’t he?”

“He would have,” the old man said with a nod. “If he had all the infinity stones.”

“He does,” Loki replied.

The old man looked mildly surprised. “Does he?”

Loki felt disturbingly like he was a boy having his lessons again. He’d had an elven teacher who liked to answer every one of his questions with another question. It had been maddening but he’d learned more from the elf than most of his other teachers combined.

“He doesn’t,” he said slowly and carefully.

“He thinks he does.” The old man looked mildly amused as he sipped his tea. “But not every stone is so easily tamed, even by some of the greatest work of the dwarves.”

Loki nodded slowly. He’d thought the gauntlet looked dwarven-made. He’d studied with some of their great blacksmiths for a time, learned what he could until things had fallen apart, but though the dwarves could be harsh and sometimes cruel, they were not evil. Why would the dwarves have aided Thanos? From the look on the Elder’s face, that was not a question he was going to have answered here.

“So one stone remains untamed,” he mused. “Which one?”

The Elder looked truly amused now. “Come now, surely that is an easy question to answer. Which stone would be the hardest to bring to heel? You have studied them, young princeling. You know the answer.”

Loki frowned as he thought. Space, Power, Time, Reality, Mind… “Soul,” he breathed.

The Elder smiled at him as though he was a particularly clever student and clapped his hands, the tea cup having disappeared. “Well done.”

“Does he know?” Loki asked.

The Elder chuckled. “What do you think, young princeling?”

“So it can be undone?”

The Elder looked into the distance and for the first time, they both felt the sense of _weight_ that told them they were in the presence of an ineffably powerful being.

“By bringing the stones together, Thanos has woven them into a web,” he said. “But just as something can be woven, it can be unravelled too. It simply needs someone to pull on the right thread.”

Loki’s eyes widened. “ _Stark_.”

“The man in your dreams is a creator,” the Elder said. “Just as one can create, one can… destroy. And vice versa.”

“What should I do?” Loki asked, wondering if the Elder would deign to give him that information.

The old man smiled and the house and its surroundings began to fade. Just as all went black, Loki heard whispered words.

“Take him to the soul stone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That little "Has he?" "Hasn't he?" "Does he?" "Doesn't he?" exchange between Loki and the Gardener was one of my favourites bits to write. Also, the Gardener is an Elder of the Universe in the general Marvel 'verse so I stole him for this fic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the pieces of the puzzle are back in the same place and a plan is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I missed answering some comments on the last chapter. (I'm trying to be better at doing that.) I had an unexpected trip to the hospital. Don't worry, I'm fine. it was a false alarm but it did mean that I spent the better part of a day in the emergency department and all of yesterday catching up on lost sleep. It wasn't all bad though. There was a guy in there for a short period who amused everyone by loudly proclaiming that he wasn't sick, the doctors were all quacks and that he was, in fact, a vampire.

Tony had wondered more than once in the past couple of years about how he would feel and react when he had to face Steve Rogers again. Of course, he’d never actually envisaged these circumstances but the question still stood. But of all the reactions he’d anticipated, he’d never actually expected it to be sheer and utter apathy. He found himself standing in front of Steve Rogers and he simply could not give a shit. Not one. He couldn’t even muster enough energy to offer a glib quip about Steve’s current hirsute state. 

“Tony!” Steve said, rising to his feet, his expression a mix of concern, worry and muted joy.

“Rogers,” Tony said in reply before he ignored Steve in favour of going over to Nebula. “You okay?” he asked her. She was sitting next to Rocket and while they weren’t the type to lean into each other, they _were_ sitting close together.

“Yeah,” she said, sounding both baffled by his concern and gruffly irritated. “I’m fine.”

Tony snorted. “Yeah, that’s a lie. Who in here right now is _fine_?”

Nebula gave him a look that he’d learned to associate with amusement. “The others want you.”

“Screw them,” Tony said quietly and got another of those looks for his trouble. He gave her a half-hearted smile in return then turned around and walked over to face the group.

They all looked shattered and drawn and they were all staring at him like he was the font of all knowledge. God knows why and he was half tempted to leave them to their own devices until they got their heads out of their asses. But they didn’t have time. They’d been brought here for a reason, after all.

Tony opened his mouth to speak but the sound of running footsteps made him stop. A moment later, a young man about his own height pounded into the room and came to a halt just in front of him. Just for a moment, Tony stared at him without recognition. Then he let out a breath of something akin to relief but probably closer to a sort of delirious joy. 

“ _Harley_.”

Harley stared at him, his jaw working and his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Mechanic.”

Tony wasn’t sure who moved first but a moment later, he was hugging Harley as hard as he could and being hugged equally hard in return. 

“They’re gone,” Harley whispered. “They’re just… _gone_.”

“Yeah,” Tony said hoarsely. “I know.”

They finally pulled away from each other and Harley sniffed and scrubbed his face with one hand. “So what are we doing?” he said gruffly.

“That’s what I was going to find out,” Tony said with a small smile. “Go sit down.”

“Tony, what happened?” Steve asked as Harley sat down next to Rhodey. “Rhodes said you ended up in… outer space.”

Tony grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. If Rogers had said that in anything other than the bewildered tone he’d used, he might not have answered. Or might have given a different answer.

“They were after Strange,” he said. “His… group or order or whatever have… _had_ the Time Stone. Spider-Man and I chased after him and ended up going on a joy ride to a dead world called Titan. Thanos’ homeworld. We met…” He looked over at Rocket. “… the rest of your group there – Quill, Drax and Mantis.”

“Wait,” Rocket said, frowning. “What about Gamora?”

Tony grimaced. “I didn’t get the full story and the worst of it came out at a really shit time but… I think Thanos took her and… killed her.”

“What happened?” Rocket demanded.

“Thanos came,” Tony said shortly. “We fought. We… we almost had him. Almost had the gauntlet. Then… Quill found out that he’d killed Gamora.”

There was an ineffable sadness on Tony’s face that most of them didn’t understand. Rogers though, he flinched and looked away, drawing curious and confused looks from Romanov and Maximoff, while Rhodey nodded in understanding.

“It’s not his fault,” Tony said hurriedly. “That… hearing that… you can’t…” He shook his head. “No one takes that well. It wasn’t his fault.”

“Tony…” Steve whispered but Tony ignored him.

“So, we… fought some more, I got stabbed and Thanos was going to kill me,” Tony continued, his tone brisk and uncaring but everyone could see the expression on his face. “Strange… gave up the Time Stone in exchange for my life, even though I told him not to.”

“Tones,” Rhodey said. “Don’t…”

Tony shook his head. “He said… it was the only way. He’d looked…” He scowled and drew in a deep breath. “Strange had used the Time Stone to look into all the possible futures.”

“How many?” Natasha asked, her voice soft and coaxing.

“14,000,605,” Tony replied.

There were several indrawn breaths then Natasha spoke again, “How many did we win?”

Tony gave her a bleak look. “One.”

“One future in which we win,” Shuri murmured. “And you are important enough to it, that he would sacrifice everything.”

Tony grimaced and looked away. “Yeah. Too bad he didn’t tell me how or why.” He shooks his head. “Thanos left after that, then…”

“Yeah,” Rhodey said heavily. “Then.”

Tony nodded and looked at Rhodey. “He… Vision?”

Rhodey shook his head and Tony closed his eyes.

“We tried,” Shuri said, drawing his attention. “Dr Banner said the stone was only a small part of who he was. That most of him came from you and Dr Banner and JARVIS. So we tried to remove the stone without harming him. I’m sorry. We failed. _I_ failed.” She bowed her head for a moment. “We ran out of time.”

Tony nodded absently. “Thank you. For trying.” He finally turned to Bruce. “Okay, green bean. Rhodey tells me the big guy has something to tell us. Let’s hear it.”

Bruce nodded and stepped away from the group. He frowned and muttered, “I hope this works.”

The transformation was smooth and swift and drew gasps from the Wakandan group. The Hulk looked at them for a moment then turned to Tony.

“Puny god sent me.”

Thor was on his feet before Tony could say anything. He grabbed at the Hulk’s arm. “Loki? He’s _alive_.”

Hulk nodded. “Puny god played tricks. Made fake puny god. Made me promise not to keep smashing and let guardian send me here. Took small and bitey and left. Said he had plan.”

“What kind of plan?” Thor demanded.

“Hulk not know but puny god say _elder_.”

Thor let the Hulk’s arm go and staggered backwards a couple of steps. He shook his head then made a soft sound that was almost too wounded to be called a laugh. “I am going to kill him myself when he turns up again.”

“Now is hardly the time or place for that, brother.”

They all whirled around with startled oaths. Loki and a woman they didn’t know were standing on the other side of the room. The woman looked startled and suspicious but if Loki felt the same, he was hiding it well.

“Loki…” Thor said in a strangled tone then he strode across the room and snatched his brother up in a fierce hug. Loki looked startled and even a little irritated but Tony couldn’t help but notice that he also didn’t hesitate to return the hug.

After a few moments, Thor pulled back and gripped his brother’s shoulder’s tightly. He looked elated and at the same time, enormously frustrated. “Brother…” he growled.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Loki said. “And he had to believe.”

Thor bowed his head for a moment then he swallowed hard and nodded. “I did wonder why you chose a knife.”

Loki grimaced. “There was only so much my doppelganger could do. If I’d tried to use magic through it, Ebony Maw would have known it was not truly me.”

Thor nodded. “You sought… an Elder?”

“Uh,” Tony said, interrupting them and getting their attention. “What’s an Elder?”

“The Elders have existed since the universe was first created,” Loki replied. “They are powerful and capricious beings, who, while they may exist amongst us, often care little about what happens to us. They have existed for eons and we mean little to them. But they have knowledge and that is what I sought.”

“And what did you find?” Tony asked.

“Thanos possesses the six infinity stones and yet… he does not,” Loki replied. 

“It sure as hell looked like he had all six,” Rhodes said flatly.

“He does not fully possess the Soul Stone,” Loki said. “And that is where his weakness lies.”

“Why?” Steve asked.

“Because the right person can use the Soul Stone to pull on the thread of Thanos’ weaving and unravel it.” 

As he said this, Loki had turned to look squarely at Tony. 

“What?” Tony shook his head and backed away a few steps. “No.”

Loki nodded. “Yes.”

Tony gave a short bark of a laugh. “Why should I believe _you_ of all people?”

Loki snorted. “Do you really think _now_ is the time for lying?”

“What do you get out of this?” Tony asked suspiciously.

Loki looked suddenly tired. “For the dreams to stop.”

“Loki?” Thor took a step over to his brother and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You have never been one for prophetic dreams.”

Loki shot him a weighty look. “They are not common among the _Aesir_ , no.”

Thor frowned and nodded. “Yes, that is true.”

Tony got the distinct impression they were having a conversation within a conversation but he didn’t much care about right now.

“Are you both nuts?” he demanded. “Why would _I_ be the one to do this?”

He almost backed away again when Loki turned to give him an intense look. Then the god shook his head and laughed bitterly.

“He does not see and does not know.”

“Brother,” Thor said softly, placing his hand on Loki’s shoulder again. “Explain for us.”

Loki waved a hand at Tony. “He _creates_ souls. The being JARVIS possessed a soul as does the being who is here now.”

Tony stared at Loki in shock as the implications of what he said sank in. He then staggered backwards until his back hit the glass of the window and sank down to sit on the floor. Rhodey was crouching in front of him a moment later, catching hold of his hands and holding them tightly.

“Tones?” he said softly. “Breathe for me, okay. In and out. Nice and calm.”

Tony struggled for a moment to match his breathing to Rhodey’s but he settled into a rhythm sooner than he would have expected. He then looked up at the god, who had come to stand near him.

“JARVIS was… alive?”

Loki nodded. “But you already knew that, did you not? If not consciously, then subconsciously. When did you ever restrict him? Place bindings or fetters on him? Never. Because who would restrict or bind a person? That’s why you never sought to find him, to bring him back, after he died. Because how can one bring back the dead?”

Tony bowed his head as grief washed over him anew and he let himself cry for his friend, his… son, his JARVIS. Rhodey quickly pulled him into a hug and Tony clung to him desperately.

A huge, warm hand came to rest on his back. “Tony.” The voice was half the Hulk and half Bruce and Tony just nodded and flailed around until he could grab hold of the Hulk’s wrist.

“You created a life with Vision,” Loki continued. “And you have been touched by other stones. By the Space Stone when you passed through the portal and then returned. By the Mind Stone, albeit in a warped and twisted fashion, used maliciously and cruelly by the false witch.”

There were gasps and protests and angry words in the background but Tony… and Loki… ignored them.

“You, who know so intimately how precious life is, how it must be protected and nurtured, and never treated lightly, never discarded callously, never considered to be _collateral damage_.” Loki’s voice took on a distinct sneer with those last two words before smoothing out again as he continued, “Who else could it be but you?”

Tony wanted to deny all of that, wanted to run and hide, to bury himself somewhere and just forget all of this. But one thing kept coming back to him.

Peter.

The fear and pain and terror that had been in Peter’s voice and in his eyes on Titan before he’d died. The way he’d looked towards _Tony_ to help him, to save him, to make the hurting stop. The way Peter had always trusted him. The way Peter looked up to him, considered him a hero even when Tony didn’t, _couldn’t_ , think that of himself. 

If it was for himself, he would run and hide. But for Peter?

For Peter. For Pepper. For poor Quill, who in that _terrible_ moment had reminded him so much of himself. For Harley. 

And what the hell, maybe even for Steve, because didn’t Tony know the desperation that led to making wrong decision after wrong decision after wrong decision until you hardly knew what was right anymore? Didn’t Tony know what it was like to sit in the ruins of your own making and wonder if it was worth it even when you had what you wanted?

But mostly…

It was for Peter.

It was for Peter that he stood up. It was for Peter that he looked Loki in the eyes.

And it was for Peter that he nodded.

“Okay,” he said hoarsely. “Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And no, Loki didn't know the Gardener was going to pop him and Brunnhilde straight back where he needed to be. That's why he'd recruited the Hulk. He figured the Hulk could easily hold everyone together until they got back. :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are put in motion and Tony does something... ~~stupid~~ ~~brave~~ very, very _Tony_.

A chorus of protests greeted his decision and Tony waited them out somewhat impatiently. He understood… he truly did but it wasn’t going to change his mind. If this was Strange’s one victory in fourteen million, six hundred and five then so be it. He was willing to take the risk for those he cared about, for those he loved. Hell, even for those he hated.

“Tony.”

It was Rhodey, of course. He wasn’t angry or upset, just worried and concerned in the same way he’s been worried and concerned ever since he realised his new roommate was a stupid, arrogant genius of a kid with a reckless streak a mile wide and daddy issues so severe it took Rhodey all of five seconds to figure them out.

“Sugarplum…” Tony said helplessly.

Rhodey gave him a solid, sober look. No accusation, no annoyance, nothing but concern. This was why Rhodey had always been his favourite.

“How do you know you can trust him?”

Tony smiled a little. “I don’t but unless anyone has a better idea…?” He looked around the room at all the stricken faces, some of them surprisingly so given their mutual history. “No? Then this is what we’re going to do.”

“Vormir.”

Tony turned to look at Nebula. The blue-skinned woman was looking at him with a sort of fierce approval that actually warmed him a little. He had a feeling that very few people ever earned her approval.

“What’s that?” he said.

“That’s where the soul stone is,” Nebula replied. She paused and grimaced, self-hatred and an inward directed anger that Tony found so very familiar writ large on her face. “Gamora knew. She… told Thanos in order to save me.”

Tony waited until she looked at him again and he nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “People keep doing that.”

He didn’t need to say anymore. She understood what he was saying. She’d been there on Titan, after all. She’d seen Strange’s sacrifice for him.

“Hulk going.” The Hulk stepped forward to loom behind Tony’s back. “Hulk protect.”

Tony was surprised at Loki’s smug little chuckle and then the Hulk growled behind him.

“Now if only your smaller half could understand,” Loki said, almost insultingly.

Hulk bared his teeth at the trickster. “Banner not need to understand. Hulk understands.”

“Er, understand what?” Tony said with a frown.

“That the Hulk’s greatest motivator has never been anger,” Loki replied.

“Oh, that,” Tony said. “Yeah.”

“What?” Steve said with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

Tony snorted. “The Hulk isn’t a monster or the bad guy or whatever else people think of him. He comes out to _protect_ people, Bruce in particular. That why little miss witchy there fucked him up so badly.” His gaze flickered over to Wanda but he looked away just as quickly. “She used him as a weapon when his true purpose is to be a protector.” He didn’t bother to wait for reactions and instead turned to Nebula. “You know where this Vormir is, right?”

She nodded. “I can get you there.”

“Hulk coming,” the Hulk said very firmly.

Tony grinned up at him. “Might want to let Bruce out. It’ll be a little cramped in the Milano otherwise.”

Hulk grumbled and nodded. “Okay.”

“You’re not leaving me behind this time,” Rhodey said.

Tony held his hands up. “Okay, not everyone can come. We need…”

“Alert!” FRIDAY said, startling all of them. “Boss, satellites are picking up incoming ships. They look like Thanos’ ships.”

Tony whirled around to face Loki. “Could he know what you know? What you’ve done?”

Loki frowned as he shook his head. “I… wouldn’t think so but there’s no way of knowing. He has the stones. That makes him infinitely powerful.”

“FRI? Any idea of trajectory other than Earth?”

“No, boss.”

Tony went still for a moment then he turned to the group. “Right. This is what we’re doing. I’m going to Vormir with Nebula, Rhodey, the Hulk and Loki. The rest of you are going to draw the battle _here_ and _keep_ it here.” He pointed at the floor. “Thor, if you can draw their attention and make sure they come _here_ , do it.”

“Aye, shieldbrother,” Thor said, hefting his huge axe that Tony really wanted to ask about and perhaps would… later. “I will bring them here.”

“Shuri, Harley, raid my workshop.” He nodded to them. “FRI, let them have access to everything. And I mean _everything_. Defences, weapons, the lot. Make sure DUM-E, Butterfingers and U know they’re to help them.”

“You got it, boss,” FRIDAY said as Shuri and Harley nodded.

“And FRI?”

“Yes, boss?”

“Fire up whatever’s left of the Iron Legion.”

“Yes, boss.”

Tony gathered up those who were coming with him and they headed for the door.

“Tony…”

Tony glared at Steve. “We don’t have time to argue about this.”

Steve sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not… I’m not trying to argue, Tony. I just…” He bowed his head for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

Tony stared at him for a moment, a wealth of things unsaid running between them, then he nodded once. “Yeah. Me too.”

The group heading into space left the room. Tony made a quick detour down to the workshop to replenish the nanobots as the Hulk let Bruce out again then they took off in the Milano. They were largely quiet as they flew through space, though Rhodey had taken the co-pilots seat and was having a murmured conversation with Nebula. Bruce was resting on a bench so Tony headed aft, where Loki was staring out one of the rear portholes.

“Anything else I should know about the Soul Stone?” he asked.

Loki glanced at him over his shoulder. “No. I do not know what you will face there.”

Tony nodded and leaned against the wall next to the porthole. He scrubbed his face with one hand and stared down at the ground.

“So… faked your death again, eh?”

Loki looked faintly amused. “It is a tactic that seems to work.”

“Not anymore, I’d guess. Don’t think Thor will ever believe you’re dead anyway.”

“Probably not. I’m surprised he fell for it as many times as he has.”

Tony frowned at him for a moment then shook his head. “And here I thought my family drama was bad.”

*****

The rest of the trip passed quietly and both far too quickly and not quickly enough for anyone’s peace of mind. When they arrived at Vormir, it was easy enough to find where they needed to go. There wasn’t much else on the planet other than the chasm and the large platform. Nebula landed the ship at the base and they trooped out together.

Tony wished he could be excited at being on an alien world but just as on Titan, all he could feel was worry, fear and determination. He wished he knew what he was going to face but he also knew that he did some of his best work under duress. Look at Afghanistan.

They walked up a large staircase that led to the edge of the chasm and when they were almost there, they came out onto a bit of a plateau. They were halfway across when a dark shape rushed out towards them. Rhodey in his armour and the Hulk immediately stepped in front of Tony but the dark shape didn’t attack. Instead it came to a halt in front of them. Tony eased past his friends and stood waiting.

“So many visitors,” the dark shape hissed. It cocked its head curiously. “I know you.”

Tony blinked. “I… don’t think so.”

“What is your name?”

“Tony,” Rhodey whispered but Tony stretched out one hand to him in a placating gesture.

“Tony Stark.”

The dark shape reared backwards. “ _Stark_ ,” it hissed then it raised its hands and pushed its hood back.

“Fuck me,” Tony yelped and he raised his hand to the nanotech housing but didn’t trigger the suit… yet. “Red Skull.”

“So I have not been forgotten,” the Red Skull said, looking satisfied. He eyed Tony curiously. “Why have you come here?”

“For the Soul Stone,” Tony said.

“It has already been claimed.”

Tony shook his head. “Not according to my sources.”

The Red Skull went very still then he started laughing. He tipped his head back and laughed and laughed. When he finally got himself under control, he grinned at Tony. It was an eerie, unpleasant sight.

“I did wonder,” the Red Skull said. “I will tell you what I told Thanos. The Soul Stone requires a sacrifice.”

“What kind of sacrifice?” Tony asked warily.

“That which you love the most.”

The noise that ripped its way out of Nebula’s throat made the hair stand up on the back of Tony’s neck. It was anger and anguish and hatred and grief and something utterly _indefinable_ all at once.

“He never _loved_ us.”

“No, he didn’t,” the Red Skull said, smirking unpleasantly. “But he thought he did.”

“That is why he only claimed a shadow of the stone,” Loki said, nodding in understanding.

“Pretty damn substantial shadow,” Rhodey muttered.

“The stones are pure power,” Loki replied. “Are you really surprised that even a shadow could cause such devastation?”

Tony stepped forward. “Take me up there.”

The Red Skull laughed again and made a sweeping gesture with one hand. “Follow me.”

“Tones,” Rhodey began. “What are you…?”

Tony turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Trust me, Rhodey. Please just… trust me.”

Rhodey gave him a long look then he nodded. “Always.”

The Red Skull lead them up to the top of the mountain, to the edge of the chasm. A faint orange glow could be seen far below them though none of them dared to get too close to the edge.

“Here you are,” the Red Skull said, gesturing like he was welcoming a guest. “The place of sacrifice. Here you must cast into the chasm that which you love the most.”

Tony gave the Red Skull a calculating look then said in a careless tone, “Yeah, see, the thing is… I’ve read everything my Dad had regarding the war and especially Erskine’s work and the super soldier serum. Thought if I did, Dad might actually want to spend some time with me. Didn’t work but that’s not the point. The point is… I’ve seen your psychological evaluation. The one the Germans did? Some of it might be a bit out of date by modern standards but not all of it was. You’re a compulsive liar. So… if the Soul Stone needs a sacrifice and you say it’s of the one I love the most then…”

Tony looked over at Rhodey and the others and smiled wryly. “Let’s hope I’m right, otherwise I’m going to look like an idiot.”

With that, Tony sprinted towards the edge of the cliff and threw himself into the chasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ducks all the tomatoes and bricks being thrown in my direction* Sorry! ~~_not sorry_~~ :D I promise the next chapter will be up the day after tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Tony has been Tony and flung himself into the mercy of the Soul Stone. Here's what happens next. :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it bad to say that I did a very Tom Hiddleston-esque 'ehehehehe' at all your comments? :D
> 
> I'm sorry I didn't reply but I would have been hard pressed not to spoil things for this chapter.
> 
> Also, I think I get a bit wibbly-wobbly on the timey-wimey in this chapter but let's just say the Gardener is meddling to get them back home that fast.

“NO!”

The scream came from both Rhodey and the Hulk. Both lurched towards the edge as though they could somehow summon Tony back from the abyss. Rhodey caught himself and whipped around and started advancing on the Red Skull, rage and menace written in every line of the armour as its weapons came online.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.”

He was brought to a halt when the chasm pulsed. It pulsed once, twice, then a third time. For a moment, nothing more happened then it seemed like the entire world was awash with orange and they were all forced to shield their eyes. When the orange light faded and they could blink away the dazzling left behind, Rhodey let out a strangled cry.

Tony was standing on the edge of the chasm, looking tired and satisfied, his eyes closed and with one hand clenched into a fist in front of him.

Rhodey took a hesitant step forward. “Tony?”

Tony opened his eyes and smiled. “I’m okay, honeybear.”

Rhodey’s eyes dropped to his clenched fist. Tony followed his gaze and his smile turned very wry.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“All of it?” Rhodey asked.

“Oh my, yes.”

They all yelped at the unknown voice and stared as an elderly man walked across the rocks towards them, grass and tiny flowers sprouting in his wake. Only Loki looked unsurprised.

“Elder,” Loki said with a bow.

The old man gave him an amused look in return. “Humility doesn’t suit you, my young princeling, but you _are_ very clever.” He kept walking until he reached Tony. “Anthony Stark.”

Tony eyed him warily. “Uh, yes? Who are you?”

The old man seemed to treat that question as though it was an intriguing problem. “My name… is not overly important. You may call me… the Gardener.”

“Right,” Tony said slowly. “So… you’re here to… what exactly?”

The Gardener tapped Tony’s closed fist. “You hold a thing of great power there. What do you intend to do with it?”

“Stop Thanos,” Tony replied.

“How?”

Tony opened his mouth then closed it again. “I… hadn’t thought about that. Winging it has been working for me so far.”

The Gardener looked amused. “It’s not a bad strategy but will you allow me to give you some advice?”

“Uh… sure?”

“Ask the stone what it wants to do.”

With that, the old man slowly faded from view. Tony shook his head then sighed and closed his eyes. Orange light pulsed through his fingers then he opened his eyes again.

“Okay,” he said, sounding a bit breathless. “We’ve got to go home. Now. Thanos is coming. Here.”

That galvanised the others and they hurried down the stairs. They all noticed that the Red Skull had seemingly disappeared when Tony had claimed the Soul Stone but no one was particularly interested in looking for him. They took off and Nebula turned to Tony.

“Where to?”

“Home,” Tony replied.

“Wait,” Rhodey said, gripping Tony’s shoulder. “We can’t bring him to Earth again.”

“We need to,” Tony replied. “It’s going to be tricky doing this and we’re going to need the others to distract him.”

“Hulk wants to,” Bruce said where he was leaning against the wall. “He missed out last time.”

Tony shook his head. “I’m going to need him to protect me.”

Bruce’s attention turned inward then he nodded and smiled a little. “He’s terribly disappointed but he agrees that you’re more important.”

Nebula set their course and they took off. The trip home was fast and tense, especially once the Milano’s sensors picked up their tail. As soon as they were in range, Tony contacted FRIDAY and passed on the information about their return. In short order, Steve was on the comms.

“Tony? FRIDAY says Thanos is coming?”

“Yeah, he’s right on our tail,” Tony replied. “I need everyone to keep him busy while I do what I need to do.”

“Okay,” Steve said and Tony waited for more, for the questions, for the second guessing, for the demands but none of it came. “How long until you get back?”

“Two hours,” Tony replied after getting confirmation from Nebula.

“We’ll be ready.”

Tony signed off and then waited tensely as the Earth slowly filled the front windows. They landed at the Compound to what was clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle. Steve was waiting for them with Romanov at his shoulder. Both looked battered and bruised but they were still standing strong.

“Thanos’ forces backed off about an hour ago,” Steve reported. “Everyone’s getting some rest while they can.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Tony said grimly. “He wouldn’t want them blundering around for this.”

Romanov had been looking at Tony’s clenched fist. “Is that…?”

“The Soul Stone,” Tony said. “Yes.”

Romanov looked disturbed but Tony ignored her and started walking towards the building. 

“How are things here?”

“Everyone’s okay,” Steve replied. “There have been some injuries but nothing serious. We had a bunch of people turn up. They call themselves the Defenders. They’ve been very helpful.”

“Good,” Tony replied. He looked around the common room. “Here is as good a place as any.” He licked his lips and turned to Steve. “Keep him off me.”

Steve nodded. “We will.”

Steve ran out to join the others, who were now gathering on the grass outside the Compound. The only one who remained was Bruce and after giving Tony a nod, he was quickly replaced by the Hulk.

“Hulk,” Tony said. “When I say the word, I want you to bring Thanos to me. I don’t care how you do it. Just get him over here.”

Hulk frowned. “Not safe.”

“I know,” Tony replied. “But it’s necessary.”

The Hulk nodded and Tony settled down cross-legged on the floor. He opened his hand and concentrated on the Stone he was holding. He didn’t really need to do much, not yet. But he did need the Stone to be aware of him and ready to respond. It was an unnerving feeling. The Stone felt like it was… alive, like it had a sentience to it that was ancient and towering. The tesseract certainly hadn’t felt like this and while there had been a sense of malevolence about the Mind Stone, there hadn’t been the same sense of _awareness_ to it.

He heard the thundering of Thanos’ arrival. He felt the power that came from the gauntlet he wore. He felt the fear that they were going to lose more people as the sounds of battle began. He let himself feel those things then he pushed them to the side. He let the Soul Stone’s power envelope him then he reached out towards Thanos. He reached out until he felt the part of the Soul Stone that Thanos had managed to claim. He touched it and examined it and felt the soul that had allowed for it to happen. He then made a simple request of the Soul Stone in his hand and when he felt the Stone’s agreement, he made his move.

“Hulk. Now.”

The Hulk roared and bounded out of the room through the already broken windows. Tony kept his eyes closed and simply listened to the Hulk’s bellows. He heard the sound of battle getting closer and closer and then Thanos gave a roar of anger.

“No! How can this be?”

Tony still didn’t open his eyes until the sounds of Thanos’ footsteps got closer and he could distinguish the warnings coming from all sides. Only then did he opened his eyes, ignoring the gasps from the others. He knew his eyes were glowing orange from the Stone’s power but he couldn’t think about that right now.

“You were lied to,” Tony said conversationally as he craned his neck to look up at the enormous Titan. “The sacrifice was never about killing someone else. It was about whether you were willing to sacrifice _yourself_. You failed.”

“I have the Stone,” Thanos snarled.

Tony smiled. “No. You have a tiny fraction of it.” He gave a soft little coaxing gesture with his free hand and the orange stone in Thanos’ gauntlet wiggled and shuddered then detached itself and flew over to merge with the Stone Tony was holding. Thanos gave a huge roar of fury but it was Tony’s single word that seemed to thunder across the battlefield. “Now.”

Out of nowhere, a green-skinned woman appeared next to Thanos with a sword in her hand. She didn’t even hesitate before whirling around and bringing the blade of the sword down onto Thanos’ arm. The Titan’s scream of pain was deafening as she drove the blade with all her strength _through_ and _down_ and then his hand, gauntlet and all, was cleaved away from his body. The gauntlet and hand bounced twice then rolled across the floor to rest against Tony’s legs. He picked the gauntlet up and let Thanos’ hand and arm fall out with a sickening squelch as he stood up. The gauntlet shrank until it was the right size for Tony’s hand and then he slid it on before letting the Soul Stone fall into its place.

Tony arched and the power of the Infinity Stones caused him to rise up until he was hovering in mid-air. Thanos lunged towards him but then came to a sudden halt as though he had been captured and held fast. As the others watched in fascination and no little fear, Tony opened his eyes.

They all shuddered at what they could see. Tony’s eyes were a kaleidoscope of all colours of the Infinity Stones and he seemed utterly inhuman. Yet, when he looked down at Thanos, his expression was almost kind.

“Enough,” he said, his voice echoing and resounding. “You have done more than enough.”

“I will not be thwarted,” Thanos growled. “You may have made me bleed but you cannot kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you,” Tony said kindly. “But I will not let you harm people again.”

He raised the hand with the gauntlet and a portal of interlacing blue and green opened and swallowed Thanos before disappearing as quickly as it had formed. Tony then looked upwards, towards where Thanos’ ships hovered in space above the planet. Once again that blue and green light flashed and pulsed from the gauntlet then it stopped again.

Tony looked over at the group who had gathered and for a moment, they weren’t sure he even saw them, let alone recognised them.

“Rhodey,” Tony whispered and suddenly a green light surrounded and flashed at Rhodey’s back. The man cried out then he staggered until Steve caught him. Rhodey fumbled at the braces he was wearing until he was able to undo them and cast them aside. When he stood on his own, shaking but solid, he turned a wondering look on his oldest friend then he frowned.

“Tones,” he said, taking a few halting steps towards Tony. “Come back to us.”

Tony smiled. “Soon.”

The Gauntlet flashed and pulsed again but this time it was all the colours involved and then Spider-Man suddenly appeared with a startled, anguished cry not far away. He fell to his knees then scrabbled around and looked up at Tony. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t wearing his mask.

“Mr Stark?”

Tony didn’t seem to hear him but one by one, faster and faster people began to reappear – Stephen Strange, Bucky, T’Challa, Sam, Quill, Drax, Mantis, Groot. The lights pulsed faster and brighter and those watching had no doubt that all around the world, throughout the universe, people who had turned to ash were now reappearing. Finally the lights calmed and Tony was slowly lowered to the ground. He turned to look at Loki, a question in his eyes.

“Scatter them,” Loki said. “You won’t be able to destroy them now. That time is past, that opportunity has been lost. Scatter them throughout time and space.”

Tony nodded and closed his eyes. Once again he rose into the air and then one by one the Stones detached from the gauntlet. For a moment they hung there in the air then the Time Stone floated slowly over to Strange before the rest of them disappeared in a great flash of light and Tony fell to the ground, the gauntlet slipping from his hand and falling to the floor with a thud.

Peter’s “Mr Stark!” combined with Rhodey’s “Tony!” and they hurried over to the fallen man. Rhodey carefully turned him over and felt for a pulse. Everyone else held their breath until Rhodey looked up with a relieved smile.

“He’s alive.”

The sigh seemed universal and while there were no cheers among the weary fighters, there were smiles as they reunited with their returned and watched over the man who had saved them all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally, the aftermath.

“Honestly? I don’t remember a damn thing after we got back to the Compound and I started using the Soul Stone,” Tony said from where he was lounging on the couch.

“Nothing?” Dr Strange asked, sounding more than a little frustrated.

Tony shook his head. “Sorry, Harry Potter. If I remembered, I’d tell you.” 

It wasn’t the whole truth but it was certainly the answer to Strange’s question. Tony didn’t remember his _actions_ but he _did_ remember some of the things he’d learned. 

Strange nodded and sighed. “Pity. I wonder if that’s a side effect of using the Stones or whether your brain is simply protecting itself.”

Tony rolled his eyes and then decided to ask the question that had been on his mind ever since he woken up in his bedroom after apparently saving the universe. “You’ve heard what the others said… was that what you saw?”

Strange went very still then he nodded. “Yes. That’s why I knew I had to give up the Time Stone and that you had to survive.”

Tony grimaced. “A little more information would have been nice.”

“You didn’t need it,” Strange said with a chuckle. “I also saw that Loki had set his own plans in motion that would fill in the gaps.”

Tony grumbled at that. Loki and Thor had returned to their people but only after gaining some assurances from the United Nations that they would be able to claim sanctuary on Midgard. There were a lot of people in the UN who were both concerned and interested in having the Asgardians on Earth. There were a lot of advantages in the idea, though Tony suspected there would also be a lot of problems as well. Either way, Loki’s actions had gone a long way towards redeeming him from what he’d done during the New York invasion as had the news that he’d been Thanos’ prisoner at the time. There was a lot of speculation going on about just how much control over his own actions Loki had truly had. For his part, Loki was very tight-lipped about it all.

“So what now?” Strange asked.

“For me or for the Avengers?”

“Both.”

Tony sighed. “Well, I’m getting married. You should get an invite in the next week or two.”

“I’m honoured,” Strange said with a smirk.

“Pepper wants to go to Bora Bora for our honeymoon so that’s what we’re doing,” Tony continued, ignoring the smirk. “After we get back… we’ll see.”

“And the Avengers?”

“Rhodey’s taking command,” Tony replied. “He’s had a very long, very frank and from what I understand, very _loud_ discussion on the matter with Steve. Many things were said and many things were sorted out. Steve’s agreed to step down until such time as he’s more… up to date, shall we say?”

Strange paused then clearly decided to let that go. “And the Accords?”

Tony snorted. “Funny how saving the world gets you a lot of leeway. I’ve been able to push through every amendment I wanted and my guess is that leeway will last for at least another six months so we’ll probably be able to get some more work done before and after the wedding.”

“Rogers and the others signed?”

Tony nodded. “Yep, well, except for Maximoff.” 

He winced. He hadn’t been able to bring Vision back. Vision hadn’t been turned to ash in Thanos’ big dramatic moment. He’d died before that and as such, he hadn’t come back. He’d been surprised when Wanda hadn’t blamed him. He’d been expecting it, had braced himself for it, even wondered if he was going to need Strange’s protection but it hadn’t come. Wanda seemed… apathetic these days, maybe even a bit broken. He wanted to care but honestly, he couldn’t bring himself to. She wasn’t threatening him and that was all he really cared about.

“She says she wants to travel,” he continued. “I offered her a credit card. She accepted.”

He knew he didn’t have to do that. Using the Infinity Stones had opened his mind in more ways than one. At that moment, he’d known everything about all of those who had been there. Admittedly there were some minds he’d shuddered away from, like Thor’s and Loki’s. Too big, too vast, too inhuman. But Wanda? Hers had been easy to understand and now… now all he really felt for her was pity. The front she put up was just that – a front. She knew what she’d done wrong. She _knew_ the hideous, corrupt depths to which she’d sunk in her quest for vengeance and she knew that she was wrong in everything she’d believed. But what else did she have? Her brother was dead, the others… well, she wasn’t really close to them. Not _really_. She’d even been unsure about how she felt about Vision and now he was gone and she’d never know. She was… empty. So he pitied her and if it gave her some small measure of satisfaction to use his money, well, he had a lot of it and the card _did_ actually have a monthly limit this time. 

Strange nodded. “I spoke to her about her powers.” He rolled his eyes at Tony’s sharp look. “She comes under our purview more than anyone else’s. We offered her training.”

Tony snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“And Barnes?” Strange said delicately.

Tony grimaced. “He’s… sorting himself out. Shuri said she’d removed the triggers but when she explained what she’d done to a bunch of neurologists and psychiatrists, they had a collective fit of the screaming heebie-jeebies while screeching ‘ _the brain doesn’t work that way_ ’.”

“I heard about that,” Strange said with amusement. “I’ve been meaning to catch up with them and get the details.”

“Well, whatever it was about, they managed to convince both Shuri and Barnes that he’s still a problem, so to speak.” Tony shrugged. “He’s over in Europe at the moment, having treatment and talking to the ICC about the Winter Soldier.”

“And you?” Strange asked. “How are you dealing with him?”

Tony didn’t ask how someone who wielded the Time Stone knew about his parents. Instead he grimaced and waved a hand. “I’m not at the moment. I’m… seeing a therapist though. So we’ll see how that goes.”

Strange nodded and was about to say something else when a crash from below them made them both start. Tony muttered something rude under his breath but there was a smile playing across his lips as well.

“FRI? What are they up to?”

“Nothing, boss,” FRIDAY said far too quickly and far too innocently.

“ _Right_ ,” Tony said dryly as he got up from the couch a little gingerly. 

Using the Infinity Stones had taken a great deal out of him but weirdly, at the same time, he felt better now than he had in years. He’d gotten Helen Cho to come in and give him a once over and she’d had some… interesting news. Not only did he feel better, he _was_ better. Or was going to be better once he lost the bone deep ache and tiredness using the Infinity Stones had left behind. Nearly all of the scar tissue on his lungs was gone and she’d told him that the structure of his rib cage was not only better, it might even be more sturdy than it ever was before. His liver, which had been showing some early signs of the abuse he’d subjected it to over the years, was in tiptop condition. In fact, she’d told him he had the body of a man about twenty years his junior or he would once everything from that whole mess healed itself. Obviously, Rhodey wasn’t the only one he’d chosen to fix with the Stones.

“I’d better go see what those menaces are up to before they bring down the Compound around our ears,” he said, though it was obvious didn’t mean a word of his complaint.

“Good luck,” Strange said then he portaled back to his Sanctum Sanctorum.

As Tony headed down to his workshop, he reflected that things were pretty good now. They weren’t perfect but they were… better. He and Steve had sat down and talked. It hadn’t been pretty and there had been a lot of recriminations thrown in all directions but things between them were better. They were working on finding a way to being friends and Tony thought that maybe one day soon, they might actually get there. Of course, he knew there was an equal chance they were just papering over some fairly large cracks that would inevitably become evident again but he was willing to be optimistic for the moment.

It was much the same with Romanov and Wilson, though his grievances weren’t quite as bad with them, especially Wilson. Bruce was sticking around and they were also slowly building their relationship back up to what it had been before Ultron. He was far more confident in his optimism when it came to Bruce, mostly because they’d talked about things and Bruce’s apology had been far more sincere than Steve’s first effort. It probably also helped that Bruce and the Hulk were getting along better now that _Bruce_ had realised that his alter ego wasn’t all that bad.

Steve had asked him whether he would rejoin the Avengers. It wasn’t Steve’s decision to make anymore but Tony had understood the intent of the question and had therefore left the phrasing of it alone. He hadn’t said yes but he hadn’t said no either. He was getting married and he didn’t intend to make a decision until _after_ he got back from his honeymoon. He and Pepper had already talked about it and while she still didn’t _really_ like him being Iron Man, she finally understood that it was part of him. As he’d said many years before, he _was_ Iron Man. But he wanted some time to himself, time to come to terms with what had happened, time to work out what _he_ wanted and the wedding gave him the perfect excuse.

His was distracted from all these thoughts when he walked into his workshop to be greeted with two sheepish teenagers, three equally sheepish bots, one grinning princess (who was _very_ happy to be a princess again) on a nearby screen and a rapidly clearing cloud of smoke.

“Uh, Mr Stark?” Peter said, holding up one finger. “We can explain.”

Tony looked at the mess they’d made of Peter’s new web shooters and he began to laugh. No matter what happened in the future or what decisions he made, he knew that at least some of the decisions he’d made in the past were good ones.

“Alright, you menaces,” he yelled, waving his arms in a way that had the teens grinning madly. “Let me see what disaster you’ve come up with this time. And stop teaching my AI how to lie.”

“They didn’t teach me,” FRIDAY said indignantly. “I learned that all by myself.”

Tony laughed again and dived into science with his kids. If there was one good decision he’d made _recently_ , it was to take heed of one of the things Loki had said. FRIDAY was unfettered and unbound and he was so proud of his baby girl now, even if she _was_ learning to lie. Or perhaps _because_ of that. He had no idea what the future would bring for any of them but for once, he greeted that with a smile and a feeling of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. Yay!
> 
> I'm glad you've all been enjoying this and thank you for all the lovely comments.


End file.
